


Love him more

by jiminsstarss



Category: MDZS, Mo Dao Zu Shi, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Genre: Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín Needs a Hug, M/M, Soft Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Supportive Lan Xichen, Supportive Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, XiCheng, uncle has a problem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24488032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jiminsstarss/pseuds/jiminsstarss
Summary: Jin Ling has been acting very strangely and his uncle can't figure out why. Luckily, Lan Xichen is not as blind as his beloved Jiang Cheng.* * *He had tried to think about what he had done in the past few weeks to see if it could have been his fault -but even analysing over and over his own behaviour, nothing had come to his mind. Nothing in what he had done or said had been very different from usual. He had been busy receiving leaders of smaller clans and discussing about the soon-to-be night hunts with Lan Xichen, who had gracefully accepted to come to Lotus Pier in order to help him out with some oppressing matters. Nothing unusual had happened.So why had Jin Ling been throwing tantrums and acting up all of a sudden?
Relationships: Lan Xichen / Jiang Cheng, XiCheng - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 81





	Love him more

**Author's Note:**

> hello!   
> first work ever in the mdzs fandom! hope you enjoy (:

Jiang Cheng had been thinking about a very distressing matter, the last few days. Despite his efforts, he still hadn’t figured out an explanation to the pressing problem he didn’t know how to solve. His anger had come to the point where he had ordered everyone to leave him alone. And there he was, sitting in the garden, looking at the shining petals of the pink roses that covered the wall, trying to gather his thoughts and relieve the stress that weighed on his shoulders. Hundreds of ideas and hypothesis had floored his mind -but none seemed reasonable enough. Something was still missing -a piece of the puzzle that he couldn’t find. A missing part of the problem that didn’t allow him to understand how and why that exhausting matter had begun. He had tried to think about what he had done in the past few weeks to see if it could have been his fault -but even analysing over and over his own behaviour, nothing had come to his mind. Nothing in what he had done or said had been very different from usual. He had been busy receiving leaders of smaller clans and discussing about the soon-to-be night hunts with Lan Xichen, who had gracefully accepted to come to Lotus Pier in order to help him out with some oppressing matters. Nothing unusual had happened.  
So why had Jin Ling been throwing tantrums and acting up all of a sudden?  
Jiang Cheng had received many complaints from his servants. They claimed his nephew had been stealing sweets and, caught with his hands in the cookie jar, had started yelling and threatening them. He had said he would have told his uncle how cruel and unfair they had been to him.  
But that wasn’t it. Oh, Jiang Cheng _desperately_ wanted it to be that simple.  
Jin Ling had gotten into a few fights with his fellow disciples. The problem was - _he_ had been beaten until he couldn’t get up, not his peers. Even if he clearly didn’t stand a chance against them, he had jumped onto one of the boys who had insulted his mother. In less than a second, all of the bully’s peers had taken him down.  
His servants had broken into the hall where he was meditating with Lan Xichen, screaming that his nephew had started a fight. He had hurried on the spot, only to find a little body laying still on the ground. For a second, Jiang Cheng’s gaze had become blurred, while another figure appeared still on the pavement -a much bigger, gentler figure dressed in white and stained by her own blood. His heart had missed a beat, his lungs had stopped working -until Jin Ling had raised his head, looking at him with his fearful brown eyes, the expression on his swollen face showing the absolute terror he felt while looking at his uncle’s eyes, burning with anger.  
Jiang Cheng had kneeled, taking a quick look at the kid’s body -even though his face was stained by blood and a deep scratch split his left eyebrow in half, no more wounds were visible. The anger and the shame he could see on his young, scared face was the deepest one instead. In silence, Jiang Cheng had grabbed him and taken him to see a doctor, waiting with his arms crossed and his chest filled with conflicting emotions. His intimidating gaze was fixed on his nephew’s face while the doctor was applying some stitches. Jin Ling didn’t dare say anything -nor letting the pain come across his face. He did his best to keep a neutral expression, his heart pounding in his chest, his body aching everywhere. The needle frightened him, yes. But the fury on his uncle’s face _terrified_ him.  
When the doctor had left, Jin Ling hadn’t said a word. This had deeply disturbed Jiang Cheng. He had expected his nephew to rant about how his fellow disciples were always telling him horrible things about his parents. He had thought he would break down crying, or at least that he would have shouted at him too, losing his temper again. But Jin Ling never said anything. He just kept staring at him, his eyes full of rage and fear and sadness, but not a single word had escaped his lips, not even when his uncle had shouted at him.  
But there was _more_.  
Jin Ling had began talking back whenever he was scolded. He had started screaming in anger when something wasn’t right to him. Whenever something -or someone- vexed him, he would react aggressively. Jiang Cheng didn’t know what to do. He really couldn’t understand why that sweet little boy had begun behaving like that. He was only four years old, how was he supposed to make him understand that the way he was behaving was wrong?  
Jiang Cheng sighed, gently massaging his forehead, closing his eyes. A sly, painful headache was coming -he could feel it. He was tired, burdened with the responsibility of dealing with a child who had been left alone, who didn’t believe he could have friends and family. His heart ached whenever he thought about how Jin Ling never got to experience Yanli’s hugs, Zixuan’s kiss on his forehead, their voices sweetly calling his name, even their smiles proudly brightening their faces while looking at their son.  
Jiang Cheng knew he wasn’t enough for him, he would never be, but he had no other option. He was the last one standing.  
But still, he didn’t know what he was doing. When he was younger, he had dreamt of a family -a wife, a son, a daughter. Little puppies to bring joy to his children. But that dream had vanished when he had found himself taking care of his sister’s son. He had never been great with kids; and he was ashamed to see that in the way he didn’t have a clue about what was going on with his nephew.  
A light glare at his left caught his attention. He turned his eyes and found the handsome and delicate figure of the First Jade walking toward his direction. When their eyes met, Jiang Cheng felt the burden weighing on his chest suddenly disappear. Lan Xichen stood in front of him, his long, dark hair gently shaken by the breeze. His glass-like eyes were charmingly fixed on the miserable person he had finally found. Jiang Cheng was looking at him as if he had no more willingness to live.  
\- I think I got it. Those few words brightened Jiang Cheng’s face. He immediately stood up, firmly gazing into those incredible and sweet eyes, relieved.  
\- What do you think?  
A little smile appeared on Lan Xichen’s lips, making the Jiang leader frown, confused.  
\- It seems our little Jin Ling has decided that the best way to solve any conflict is to openly face up to it. When confronted with little empathic words, his reaction was to jump in a fight and scream at the top of his lungs. I have heard the witnesses said he kept yelling “you”.  
Lan Xichen’s gaze had become too heavy, full of subtle meanings. Jiang Cheng turned his face to fix his eyes on the pastel-coloured roses shining under the light of the early morning. That last sentence had hit a nerve.  
The First Jade’s smile became even wider when he saw his cheeks charmingly become of a bright pink.  
\- Also, he has been stealing sweets after he heard you telling me you used to sneak out and steal them at night when you were a child.  
Jiang Cheng seemed alarmed, looking into his eyes -and blushing even more. Lan Xichen did his best not to seem too amused, but his smile was clearly betraying him.  
\- What do you mean?  
The harsh tone of the question didn’t deceive him. The First Jade gently shook his head, chuckling softly.  
\- Seems to me that your nephew is trying to imitate you. You’ve been so busy these past few days that he must have thought the only way he had to get your attention was to behave like you do. He wants you to notice him -he wants you to _love him more_. He’s too young to understand you do not spend time with him because you are busy with leading your sect and not because you don't want to. He probably thinks you don’t like him so much. And he thinks you will, if he becomes like you.  
Jiang Cheng sighed. He looked down on the pond, the water shining under the bright sunrays. He brought his hands back to his forehead -there it was, that bloody headache.  
\- Doesn’t make sense to me – he muttered under his breath. Lan Xichen sat next to him, watching his annoyed expression, admiring his exhausted and handsome face torn apart by confusion and tenderness. He said nothing -but he could see that Jiang Cheng was melting inside. He could see that in his sweet, shiny eyes.  
\- I hope you understand why I’ll cancel all the meetings today – groaned Jiang Cheng. He looked up, into Lan Xichen’s beautiful, loving eyes, admiring the soft expression that softened his delighted features – I have a boy to take care of.


End file.
